Chapter 53 – Radio Stars

7.9.1206 - Sunday (Free Day)

Munk nervously paced around inside the radio station as he waited for Rean to arrive. He needed to record audio for his show in half an hour, and he didn't have either of his leads present to perform that day.

Luckily, his savior quickly arrived.

"Hey Munk." Rean greeted as he opened the door.

"Rean! Did Celestine contact you?" Munk questioned as he watched Rean enter the radio station. He could've sworn that he saw a heavenly glow around Rean before he turned around and closed the door.

"Yeah. Did you have some trouble with the radio show?" Rean answered as he approached Munk.

"Yeah… It's a pretty long story, though, and I'd hate to take up your time. I won't bother you with it if you're busy right now." Munk explained.

"Well, for the time being, can you just tell me the story? You said something about appearing on a radio program." Rean asked.

"Haha, yeah. Rean, do you know of Radio Trista's early-morning radio drama?" Munk replied.

"Oh, I didn't know you guys were running a radio drama. I heard that you were working on a short drama, but I train in the morning, so I've never heard it." Rean admitted.

"I see. That might actually be for the better." Munk noted.

"Huh?" Rean questioned.

"Ahem, the show is an adventure-drama called 'Eternal Neun'. It started in the spring, and it's really been catching steam with listeners. And during the Summer Festival in the capital, we're going to do a special show during prime time." Munk explained.

"I see. I've never heard of it, but it sounds interesting. So, what's the problem?" Rean responded.

"Um, well… We have some issues with the protagonist and the heroine. We hired two actors from a theater company, but both of them came down with food poisoning." Munk revealed.

"I see… Food spoils faster this time of year. I guess they had bad luck. W-Wait… Are you asking-" Rean commented before getting interrupted by Munk.

"Yup, I'm asking you to play the protagonist." Munk answered.

"No, no, no! No way! I can't do that! I've never acted in my life. The fans are going to be furious!" Rean responded.

"Well… the saving grace here is that your voice is really similar to his. It's not unheard of in this industry, and I'll do everything I can to help you. And most importantly, I think you'd fill the protagonist's role perfectly!" Munk assured Rean

"Even if that is true… Didn't you say the heroine got food poisoning, too?" Rean asked. He wasn't sure if he was capable of the voice range that would be required of him to play both the protagonist and the heroine.

"Well, yes. The way the show works, the heroine changes every episode. A few scripts are all ready to go, so I think you can make this work. So… I have a few people in mind that we both know… I was hoping you might be able to convince one of them…" Munk nervously explained.

"It was nice knowing you…" Rean responded as he turned around.

"H-Hey, wait! Like I said, the show's finally picking up steam… I don't want it to end like this! I've been working on this story ever since our school days! It's my precious baby! And just like with Abed Time… I want nothing but quality entertainment for our listeners!" Munk begged as he fell to his knees.

"This is so out of the blue. But I feel sorry for him. It's going to be hard, asking someone we know to play the heroine." Rean thought to himself as he began wondering who the best candidate would be. It would probably be easier for him to play both roles after all.

Munk could only bow his head as he continued to beg for Rean's help.

"Okay. I don't know what I can do, but I'll try my best." Rean informed Munk as he offered him his hand.

"T-Thanks, Rean! I don't even know how to begin to thank you!" Munk responded as he stood back up with help from Rean.

"We don't have much time, right? Come on let's get started. So, who do you think would be good for the heroine role?" Rean asked.

"Oh, yeah… So first of all, the drama is set in a fictional kingdom located in the center of the continent. The main character's name is Neun. He's a skilled agent who carries out secret orders from the second-born princess. He has an interesting background. He has white hair, wears black clothes, and uses a type of Eastern sword called a katana." Munk explained as he gave Rean a rundown on his series' lore.

"I don't even know where to start with this main character." Rean commented.

"For the heroine, I'm thinking… a petite, trouble making engineer named Femi… or a female merchant with an accent named Bertha, who goes up against big companies… or a plucky med student named Nanai, who works at a big hospital that was taken over by a pharmaceutical company…or a sister named Riese, who is a part of the church's secret order of knights. Those are the heroines for the scripts that are ready to go." Munk continued.

"Okay, I know who you have in mind… Mint for the engineer, Becky for the merchant, Linde for the med student, and Rosine for the Sister." Rean commented.

"Yeah, so I want you to ask one of them to play the part of the heroine. I'll let you decide who you want to go with." Munk replied.

"Okay. I don't have much time, so I'll go ask around. You need to prepare the recording, right? Go ahead and do that for the time being." Rean instructed.

"All right, got it!" Munk responded.

With that, Rean made his way to the door so he could begin his search.

"Wait, Rean! I just remembered something!" Munk yelled as Rean opened the door.

"Huh? What is it?" Rean asked before turning around to face Munk.

"There is actually a fifth script, but it's not complete. So, if you go with that script's heroine, you and the person you find have to improvise using the unfinished draft as a base." Munk explained.

"I see then. Can you give me a description of that script's heroine then? Just in case if all the other girls aren't able to help." Rean asked.

"Sure thing. They're a petite astronomer, and their name is Bell." Munk answered.

"Petite astronomer, huh? I'll keep an eye out for someone who fits that description in case I can't get any of the other four." Rean commented before exiting the radio station.

Rean quickly made his way to the branch campus to check if either Mint, Linde, or Becky were available.

"Good morning, Rean." Valimar greeted as he saw Rean enter the hangar.

"Oh hey, Rean!" Mint greeted as she stood on top of one of Valimar's shoulders.

"Good morning, you two." Rean replied as he saw Valimar lower Mint back to the ground.

"Was there something you needed?" Valimar asked.

"I was going to ask if Mint was willing to help out at the radio station, but it looks like I've forgotten that today she was going to do maintenance on you." Rean informed Valimar.

"Don't worry, I would've said no anyways. I'm only comfortable performing if I'm playing music." Mint responded.

"Oh, okay then. I think I'll go ask around." Rean replied before making his way to the door.

"Good luck with the search, Rean!" Mint yelled as she waved Rean off.

"I'll make sure to record your show." Valimar joked.

"Haha, Valimar really has started to talk more like a human." Rean thought to himself as he made his way outside.

Rean soon found himself outside of the school store. He had intended to ask Becky next, but he quickly found a sheet of paper taped to the front door of her store.

"Aye, sorry fo' the inconvenience, but I went to go pick up some more supplies. If ya need anything feel free to ask Stark to open the ol' shop for ya." Becky wrote.

"Alright, two out of four have been unavailable. That leaves Linde or Rosine, oh and someone who would fit the unfinished 'petite astronomer' script." Rean thought to himself as he made his way inside the main building.

"Oh, good morning, Rean. Do you need something?" Linde greeted as Rean entered her office.

"Good morning, Linde. Don't worry, I'm good. I was just wondering if you were available to help at the radio station?" Rean replied.

"Oh I'm so sorry Rean, but I can't leave my office right now. I'm expecting a delivery." Linde answered.

"A delivery?" Rean questioned.

"Actually, I should be thanking you and Ash. His little stunt yesterday couldn't have happened at a better time. After the incident I checked all the first-aid kits arounds the branch campus, and all of them were under supplied. Some of them didn't even have anything inside. I ordered a bunch of supplies to restock all the first-aid kits, but the delivery company was a little vague on arrival time, so I'm waiting here until they arrive." Linde revealed.

"S-Seriously? I guess I should give him some extra credit on his next exam. Not that he needs it, anyway." Rean commented.

With that Rean excused himself and made his way back outside.

"Okay then, no need to panic Rean. I'm sure Rosine is available. Still, I should test out my vocal range in case I need to pull double duty. I suppose self-love is important." Rean said to himself as he walked back to Leaves.

Rean soon entered the church, hopefully he wasn't interrupting anything.

"Oh hello, Rean. What brings you here?" Rosine quietly greeted as she approached Rean.

"Hey Rosine, I was wondering if-" Rean replied before getting shushed by the priest.

Much to Rean's embarrassment, he had walked into the church while the priest was still giving a sermon.

"Why don't we take this somewhere else?" Rosine whispered before leading Rean into one of the meeting rooms.

"I-I'm sorry. I really should've looked at the time before I walked in." Rean apologized.

"Don't worry, it's fine. Aidios won't smite you for something like that. What was it that you needed? Oh, did you find another Black Record?" Rosine asked.

"Not recently, but I'll call you when I do. What I wanted to ask you was if you were available right now to help with the radio station?" Rean responded.

"I see. Can you describe the role to me?" Rosine replied.

"Judging from what little Munk shared with me, he wants you to play a sister who belongs to the church's secret order of knights." Rean explained.

"I-I see… I think it would be wise of me to politely decline the role." Rosine replied.

"Really? I think it's a perfect fit for you. Maybe we can write in your crossbow." Rean suggested.

"That's exactly why I must decline the role. It's a bit too perfect for me. If I perform the role then I might publicly out myself." Rosine explained.

"What do you mean?" Rean questioned.

"It's rather scary how close to home this role meant for me is to my position within the church as a Squire of the Gralsritter. You don't think that Munk figured me out, do you? Oh no, I must've done a terrible job keeping it a secret while at Thors." Rosine said as she started to panic.

"Don't worry, Rosine. I'm sure it was just a lucky guess. I only found out because Father Thomas and you told me the truth yourselves." Rean assured Rosine.

"You think so? I suppose you do have a point. Honestly, I would prefer it if you were the only person outside of the church who knew my secret." Rosine responded.

"Alright then, I'll just tell Munk that Sunday School was taking longer than expected." Rean informed Rosine.

"Thank you for understanding, Rean. I wish you the best of luck with your search." Rosine replied before leading Rean outside the church.

Rean then found himself sitting on the steps outside of the branch campus dormitory, he was unsure of how to tell Munk that none of the girls were available.

"C'mon Rean, think. There has to be someone here in Leeves that could be that petite astronomer." Rean thought to himself.

Rean was ready to call it quits and walk back to the radio station and tell Munk that the show would have to go on with him playing both roles, but just as he stood up to walk, someone opened the front door.

"Rean? What are you doing here? I thought you went to go do some requests?" Towa asked as she stepped outside.

"Towa? Oh, I've been searching for someone to help with Munk's request. We need someone to play the heroine on his show." Rean explained.

"If you'd like, I can help." Towa offered.

"Really? Wait, but aren't you busy?" Rean asked.

"Oh, don't worry. I wasn't doing much. I wanted to clean my dorm room, but I decided to clean the kitchen first. I just came out here to get some fresh air." Towa revealed.

"Oh, okay. If you're not busy, sure. Now that I think about it, you're perfect for one of the roles Munk had a script for." Rean noted.

"Really?" Towa questioned.

"Yeah, he described one of them as a petite astronomer." Rean revealed.

"Sounds like a role I was born to play." Towa joked.

"Alright then, let's head to the radio station. The recording session should start in ten minutes." Rean responded.

With that, the pair quickly made their way to the radio station.

Rean and Towa soon took their seats inside the radio station's recording booth. Munk did his best to give Towa a run down on her character. Since the script was unfinished, they would have to improvise for the majority of the episode.

Despite Rean and Towa's worries, Munk assured them that the recording was going to be edited to make sure everything sounded good.

"Alright, are you two ready?" Munk asked.

"I-I suppose." Towa nervously answered.

"Don't worry Towa, we'll both do great out there." Rean assured Towa.

"I-If you say so. Since you're the protagonist, you better pick up the slack for me." Towa replied.

With that, Munk closed the door and started recording.

Eternal Neun – Eternal Star

It was a harsh winter afternoon as Neun found himself hurrying back to his cabin. Due to recent forecasts, he had been forced to stay put inside a cabin close to the mountain. Since a blizzard was predicted to hit at any moment that night, he had decided that it would be wise to stock up on wood to keep himself warm later during the blizzard.

Just as Neun got close to his cabin, he spotted a lone petite traveler making their way to the mountain. Thanks to their golden telescope, he was able to deduce that it was an astronomer from a nearby village.

"Excuse me, I'm not sure if you have heard, but there's going to be a blizzard tonight!" Neun yelled as he placed all the wood he had collected inside his cabin.

"What!?" the astronomer yelled.

Since it would be dangerous to continue shouting near the mountain, Neun decided to instead make his way to the astronomer.

"I said that there's going to be a blizzard tonight. I recommend turning back now before the snowfall gets any worse." Neun informed the astronomer.

"A blizzard? That must have been why my family was telling me to cancel my plans to stargaze tonight." The astronomer responded.

"Did the constant snowfall since this morning not clue you in on the upcoming blizzard?" Neun asked.

"I-I may have started my trek for the mountain since the crack of dawn. I-I thought that it would end by nightfall…" the astronomer admitted before looking away from Neun with a blushing face.

Neun couldn't help but admit that the astronomer looked rather cute. Even if thanks to her comically large coat the only features he could see were her green eyes.

"Wait, have you been on this trek since this morning?" Neun questioned.

"I-I was planning to camp for the night." the astronomer explained as they pointed towards all the camping supplies that they had stored in her backpack next to her golden telescope.

"I doubt that'll be able to keep you safe during the blizzard." Neun noted.

"Then what do you suggest I do? There's no way I can make it back home before the blizzard hits." the astronomer questioned.

"Then how about you stay the night at my cabin?" Neun offered.

Before the astronomer could give a response, she and Neun noticed the snowfall become even harsher.

"Oh no, the blizzard is starting!" the astronomer yelled as the snowfall continued to turn even more harsh.

"Looks like we don't have a choice." Neun responded before lifting the astronomer off the ground.

Neun soon found himself carrying the astronomer as if she was a princess as he ran to his cabin for safety.

The two soon made it inside Neun's cabin. There wasn't much inside since it was used by the knights when visiting the mountain. Just a fireplace, a nice rug next to the fireplace, small kitchen, a bathroom, and a single bed fit for one or two people.

The astronomer watched as Neun put her back on the ground before running to his cabin's door to close it so the snow couldn't get in.

"Phew… We made it…" Neun commented as tried to catch his breath.

"There's so much snow outside. What was I thinking only taking a tent with me?" the astronomer noted as she looked through one of the cabin's windows.

"How inconsiderate of me, let me start up a fire so you can warm up." Neun commented as he made his way to his cabin's fireplace.

While Neun set up the fire, the astronomer decided to get comfortable and put down her backpack before taking off her coat.

"Wow, it's so warm in here. Thank you- um, I don't think that we've exchanged names yet. I'll go first, my name is Bell." Bell commented.

"Hi there, my name is Neun. Nice to meet you." Neun replied as he walked over to Bell.

The two soon spent the evening sitting down next to the fireplace getting to know each other. Bell found herself looking at Neun with intrigue as he described the many missions he'd undertaken for the princess. In return, Neun listened closely as Bell passionately described her studies of the night sky.

"Wow, I didn't know there was so much to know about the stars." Neun commented.

"Heehee. I never would have guessed that you were an agent of Her Highness. I feel like I just learned something I shouldn't have." Bell replied.

The two came to enjoy each other's company. Despite coming from completely different worlds, they felt as if they found a special kinship with one another.

"If you don't mind me asking, why are you in the area anyway?" Bell asked.

"I don't think Her Highness would mind if I told you. It's connected to why there's been strange weather lately. According to the royal family, they suspect than an evil terrorist group is up to some trouble in the mountain. To air on the side of caution, Her Highness sent me to investigate the mountain and let her know if she should file a royal decree to have the nearby village evacuate the area." Neun explained.

"I had no idea such an event was possible." Bell replied.

"Don't worry, my fellow knights and I have been doing our best to make sure nothing bad happens to the people of this country." Neun assured Bell.

In an attempt to comfort her, Neun began patting Bell's head. She could only blush in response; she rather enjoyed all the attention Neun was giving her.

"Hey wait, look!" Neun said as he pointed towards the window.

Bell turned her head to see that the blizzard had stopped.

"Well then, better late than never." Neun commented as he stopped patting Bell's head and stood up.

"What do you mean?" Bell asked. She couldn't help but miss having him comfort her.

"I assume you came all the way to the mountain to stargaze, no?" Neun replied as he walked over to Bell's bag and pulled out her golden telescope.

"Are you sure it's safe to go out?" Bell questioned as she walked up to Neun.

"It should be, just make sure to watch your step. It's quite dark outside." Neun answered.

Bell soon found herself following close behind Neun as he led her to a good spot she could use to stargaze. In order to make sure that they didn't get separated in the dark they were holding hands, which both did their best not to get distracted by.

"This should be a good spot." Neun said aloud as he stopped in his tracks.

It wasn't very far from the cabin, but it had a lot of open space. Perfect for Bell to get a good look at the night sky.

"Wow, this spot is incredible." Bell commented.

After letting go of each other, Neun put down the telescope so Bell could set it up properly. After a few minutes, she was looking at the night sky with awe.

"Enjoying the view?" Neun asked as he watched over Bell.

"Yup! I sure am glad I made the trek here." Bell replied as she stepped away from the telescope and turned to Neun.

"Even with the blizzard?" Neun questioned.

"Heehee. I can't really say I mind tonight's blizzard. After all, I got to meet you because of it. You were like my knight in shining armor coming to save me from getting caught in the blizzard." Bell answered before her face began to glow a subtle shade of red.

"I suppose I can say the same thing. It was nice meeting you." Neun replied before his face turned a matching shade of red.

The two continued stargazing together for another hour before returning to the cabin to rest up for the night.

The following morning Neun walked Bell back to her village, where he was invited to have dinner by her family when they arrived in the evening.

They also invited him to stay the night at their home. Unfortunately, Neun soon had to leave the village after getting a call from the princess, who had ordered him to return to the castle so they could discuss their next course of action.

Knowing that Bell wanted to spend more time with him, Neun promised her that he would return to the village and visit her once everything settled down.

With tears in her eyes, Bell waved Neun off as he began his trek back to the capital. Despite her worries, she was sure that he would stick to his word and return to her one day.

After an hour of recording, the session came to an end. Rean and Towa breathed a sigh of relief once Munk informed them that they had enough material for an episode.

"Thank you both so much! We're gonna start editing it now, but I think it's going to turn out as great as the other episodes." Munk told Rean and Towa as they got up to leave.

"Ehh, I'm not so sure we'll match up to the real thing." Rean replied.

"If I had to be honest, I was a little nervous at first, but it turned out to be really fun." Towa added on.

"Good to hear it! Man, you two were great at thinking up romantic interactions on the spot. It was almost as if you two were a real couple." Munk commented. He knew they were a couple, but he figured that it would be best to act as if he was in the dark.

"I-I see… A-Anyway, it was no coincidence you asked us to play these characters, huh?" Rean nervously replied as he thought about the similarities between Neun and Bell compared to himself and Towa.

Munk felt a shiver go down his spine as Rean and Towa waited for an answer.

"The few lines that were included in your unfinished script made them sound very similar to us. Although some things were a little different." Towa added on.

"H-Haha, well… You're exactly right! I had already asked Mint, Becky, Linde, and Rosine about playing the heroines earlier today. They all originally agreed to record an episode each, until I told them that I wanted Rean to play Neun. After that they all canceled on me. They also recommended Towa to play the heroine." Munk revealed as he kneeled on the ground as a form of asking for forgiveness.

"Wait, so you already knew that they were all busy? Then why did you send me to go ask them to play the heroine in the first place?" Rean questioned.

"I didn't have a script that was appropriate for Towa prepared, so I needed to keep you busy for a little while longer so I could write enough material for you two to work with." Munk explained as he kept his head lowered.

"That explains a lot. Anyway, best of luck with the episode." Rean responded as he helped Munk stand back up.

"Hopefully our performances were good enough for the final program." Towa commented.

"Like I said, you two did great. Thank you very much." Munk replied.

With that, Rean and Towa exited the radio station to continue their day.

"How about I walk you to the dorm and help you clean our- your room?" Rean suggested as he walked beside Towa.

"S-Sure, but why don't you walk around Leeves one more time? We've got to be more discreet; we don't need to be giving people like Munk more material to work with." Towa replied as she did her best to stop herself from holding Rean's hand in public.

Unfortunately for Rean and Towa, their episode of Eternal Neun wound up being the most viewed episode to date.


Author's Note

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter!

Honestly, as much as I would have loved for this quest in CS3 to include Towa as an option, I've got to admit that I respect Munk for trying to manifest his own rare pair (Rean/Rosine).

Hopefully you all enjoyed that Eternal Neun segment!